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Sophia described him as best she could.
“I will see if I can find him again,” Jeb asked. “You did right to tell me.”
Silence settled around them for a moment. Tabitha, the thief, and Delilah’s problems aside, it was really rather nice to be able to relax and simply enjoy the morning – for both of them.
“Here we are,” Jeb murmured once they reached Delilah’s front door.
For once in his life Jeb didn’t want to say goodbye to a woman he was interested in.
Usually, when he took a lady out, his patience was tested to the limit. Not least because he found the average woman’s tendency to ramble on about nonsensical matters rather tedious. If they weren’t giggling unnecessarily, or dithering on about nonsense, or dropping hints about matrimony or expectations then they were simpering and clinging as though completely unable to stand on their own two feet, and he found it as annoying as Hell.
Sophia, however, was nothing like that. She did stand on her own two feet. Rather too much for his liking. Her touch on his arm was light. The silence that had fallen between them was relaxed in nature, and companionable to the point that he felt comfortable around her. There was no hint of pretence or wariness in either of them and it made a refreshing change. It was wonderful to be with someone who spoke when they had something to say, otherwise was perfectly content to remain quiet. It went some way to reaffirming his belief that he might just have found ‘the one’ he hadn’t entirely been sure he was searching for.
Still, there she was, and he wasn’t prepared to look a gift horse in the mouth. Now that she was there, he intended to do everything he needed to do to keep her in his life. He just had to decide how to go about it.
“Thank you for escorting me home. I have to confess that I feel a little safer having someone with me,” Sophia declared honestly. She could see no reason to lie to him.
Jeb lifted her hand off his arm and drew it up to his lips. The kiss he placed on the back of her soft skin made her shiver. Jeb saw the flash of awareness in her eyes a second before her gaze fell shyly to the floor.
He smiled softly. He hadn’t been expecting shyness, but it was there anyway. He was delighted by the intriguing mix of emotions she revealed. Suddenly, he wanted to see all of Miss Sophia Carney’s facets, and hopefully unearth that passionate nature so carefully hidden from the world.
Again, he kissed the back of his hand, but it still didn’t appease the growing hunger deep within him. He lifted his head and looked deep into her eyes. He could sense no fear or hesitation in her as he leaned forward slowly. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her.
Sophia watched his head lower slowly toward hers. She felt trapped, mesmerised even, but couldn’t have moved away if her life depended on upon it. Her soft sigh shimmered over their lips seconds before his came to rest upon hers and stayed there. The gentle pressure wasn’t threatening but rendered her helpless.
Seconds later his lips had gone. As quickly as that, the kiss was over, and he lifted his head again. The wave of disappointment that crashed through her snapped her out of her daze. She looked at him in consternation, unsure what to do next.
Jeb forced his attention away from the luscious curve of her lips and tried to focus his mind on something less tempting.
“I will see you on Friday?” he murmured huskily.
“Yes, Friday,” Sophia whispered.
“Until then, Sophia.”
He was about to turn away but then paused and looked back at her. Before he could stop himself, he returned to her, yanked her into his embrace, and slammed a kiss on her lips that left her reeling.
Her fingers had barely touched his jacket before he was gone again. On trembling knees she was left to slump weakly against the front door and watched him slam the gate closed behind him with a resounding thump. As he walked back toward the village, his gaze remained locked on hers right up until the moment he disappeared from sight.
Dazed, stunned, awed and delighted, Sophia completely forgot about the news sweeping around the village, the strange man, and Mabel’s opinion of Tabitha’s fate, and let herself into the house with a soft smile on her face. As soon as she closed the door behind her, she had to take a moment to rest against it while she willed her shaking knees to hold her up long enough for her to climb the stairs.
CHAPTER NINE
It was with a mixture of trepidation, fear, and excitement that Sophia made her way to the Harvell’s home that Friday.
After what had happened on the doorstep the other day she couldn’t wait to see Jeb again. The hours had passed so painfully slowly since she had last seen him that Sophia felt like she was going stark raving mad.
The only issue that dampened her excited anticipation was the presence of the stolen hairbrushes tucked away in her bag. She hated to think what would happen if she got caught with them in her possession. The thought of Jeb’s reaction was simply horrifying and would almost certainly mean the end of their association. Feeling tainted, she couldn’t wait to get rid of them, and glared at her aunt when she swept past her and out of the front door.
Once outside, Sophia slammed the door closed behind her and followed her aunt down the street.
“Don’t sulk, Sophia,” Delilah drawled with a slightly mocking look at her niece’s scowl.
“I am not sulking,” Sophia snapped through gritted teeth.
Her aunt’s smug expression made her fury burn even brighter. She decided then that Delilah needed to be pushed to return the items.
Eyeing the Harvell residence ahead, and before she could talk herself out of it, she suddenly thrust the bag at her. When Delilah didn’t immediately take it, Sophia pushed it harder until she had no choice but to hold it.
